Conscious Reading and Writing: The Appropriateness and
Necessity of Response
11th – 12th Grade High School English Unit
Mentor Text: Johnny Got His Gun
Matt Hamilton
E00968060
CURR 205
Summer 2012
Table of Contents
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Unit Overview
The motivation for this unit is the idea that students should be exposed to influential literature
that exhibits unique stylistic and purposeful choices on the part of the author. Students will read
Johnny Got His Gun and examine the purpose and intent of the author, the style of the language
and writing, the thematic content and motifs, and the appropriateness of response on the part of
the reader. This material is suitable for upper level (11th and 12th grade) high school English
students. Students will be working on critical reading and thinking skills, while looking at
authorial craft that can be used in their own purpose-driven writing.
A note on the format and timeline for this unit—
This unit contains four larger lessons that will take anywhere from one day to one week to
complete within a class. In the larger scheme of the unit, I realize that these lessons take for
granted that students will become familiar with the novel being studied through individual
reading and class discussion. This means that there is about two weeks of instruction that I am
not including in the unit because the lesson plans will remain very similar; lessons will be
structured around reviewing the major plot points in the assigned homework (reading) and
analyzing the literature as a class. Halfway through the novel, when students are familiar with
this type of analysis and discussion in the context of the novel, I will begin with the direct lesson
and from that point intersperse the written lessons with more class discussion. The inductive
lesson will launch a focus for the rest of the novel and hopefully the discussion will continue past
this lesson, with other points being brought up throughout. When we have finished the book as a
class, we will move into a direct lesson on language use and standards in the English language
(not included in this unit) and the enrichment lesson will follow. The unit will end with the
cooperative lesson and the final assessment.
This project should reflect the general outline of these ideas, although there will necessarily be
gaps left where I missed out on the time needed to complete many of the lessons and transitions.
The thinking is complete, however, as far as objectives are concerned, as is the case with the
student assessment, which will include everything that is covered in the unit, rather than the four
lessons that were included.
Each individual lesson is formatted as a step-by-step guide for teaching in the classroom. The
lessons begin with the set activity or introduction, and then the content, discussion, and group
work (if applicable) will follow. If there are materials that need to be distributed to the students
for the lesson (i.e. assignment sheets, information packets, handouts, extra readings) they will all
directly follow the written lesson in hard-copy. For any lesson, there may be additional
resources that can be incorporated, and some ideas are listed in the annotated bibliography at the
end of this project.
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Unit Rationale
This unit will focus on critical reading and writing skills, enabling students to pursue a
thoughtful analysis of the various texts that surround them in our modern world. This aligns
with the Michigan standards for High School English because students are supposed to be
learning critical reading and writing skills along with thoughtful treatment of mass media and
different genres. Students will begin by reading Johnny Got His Gun, which will serve as a
mentor text for these ideas. This text will be presented as a model for critiquing the world, but
also as a model for a text which itself must be critiqued. The novel portrays in horrifying detail
one of the most controversial subjects in history: war. We will attempt to pull the main ideas and
key motifs in the novel which express and argue the various threads of this complex topic.
Important to our study will be the style and voice of the novel, which is represented by a stream
of consciousness type narrative and a very self-conscious first-person narration. These are likely
unique writing styles that the students will struggle through, but we will acknowledge their
relevance and importance in writing about war, which itself is a very dramatic entangling of
events, much like the conscious memory.
Included with the study of the novel’s form and imagery will be an examination of the
mythologies and narratives that are brought up in the novel, and also those that exist in mass
media. Students will be asked to distinguish between mythologies and narratives and identify
how these can be used in writing, and how they were used in Johnny Got His Gun (i.e. allusions,
anecdotes, etc). The goal of this study will be to get students thinking about the ideas that
circulate in society and where they come from. It is very obvious in the novel that the narrator
questions his education and training, among lots of other ideas that were commonplace in his
life; students should similarly learn to examine the world and analyze the truthfulness of the
narratives that are perpetuated in American society.
This will proceed into a short discussion of the purpose of the novel, and students will be
asked if they believe it is in any way didactic or cautionary. We will examine what these terms
represent in literary study, and openly discuss the consequences of both. Ideally, this will either
be brought up alongside or loop back into the discussion of critiquing society and analyzing
narratives. Students should learn that expressive and reflective writing will almost always lend
itself to a didactic purpose, as our experiences allow us to instruct later generations.
Alongside the study of the novel and its narrative style, we will broaden our view to
study the appropriateness of what I am calling “non-standard” English writing. Stream of
consciousness writing will be a large subcategory in our study, and we will reference Johnny Got
His Gun as our mentor text. We will look at language from a linguistic standpoint and examine
what elements of the prescriptive grammar can be changed or eliminated during different styles
of writing. Students will explore various purposes and audiences and attempt to match
appropriate writing styles and grammars to these assignments. We will conclude with a
discussion of the contextual effectiveness of these types of writing, again relying heavily on our
reading of Johnny Got His Gun.
The circulating discussions in these lessons will focus on the idea that we all have a voice
that we can use to share our ideas about the world. Students should come away from the unit
knowing that there is a community which encourages them to think and to question, and that
their writing can reflect this. A dramatic novel about a nearly-dead man’s torso will spur this
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thinking; if writing from a lone torso can be so effective, why should a high school student put
the pen down because there is “nothing to say”? Students will find examples of effective
stylistic choices on the part of the author, and they will be encouraged to add these to their
“writer’s toolbox” for later use. Although there may be opportunity to put these writing
techniques to practice, the main portion of this unit will be discussion-based and students will
learn not only from an open discussion of the novel but also from their colleague’s experiences
and observations. The purpose of this style of learning is again to encourage creative thinking,
speaking, and listening. An environment of thoughtful participation will be encouraged as
students prepare to write reflections on their world much in the style of Johnny Got His Gun.
The unit will culminate in a final essay for the students. Because of the complexity of the
novel, students will be encouraged to rely on that text for their information, and they will not be
required to incorporate any outside research. Ideally, students will include an analysis of a myth
or narrative in their paper, which will require some outside research. However, we will have
discussed many readings of the text and possibilities for engagement, so if students choose not to
include this in their writing, their analysis will still be encouraged. The purpose of this essay
will be to assess whether they can identify in a piece of writing the thematic elements which we
discussed during the unit, and if they can talk about these elements and their relationship and
importance for critical analysis. This will allow the teacher to distinguish if the students believe
in the importance of their personal reading of a piece of literature, and if they have the ability to
make the literature relevant to a topic of analysis that interests them.
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Reaching Students
This unit is meant to be dense and far-reaching, and thus requires some heavy content and
a lot of critical thinking on the part of the students. While I am idealizing a class that responds
enthusiastically to literature and the tasks associated with analyzing texts, I imagine that there
will be a challenge getting some of the students to this point. My goal is to move the students’
thinking beyond the traditional “analysis,” which usually includes no more than a quick look at
plot, setting, historical context, and basic themes and motifs that are a part of the popular
discussion surrounding the text. Students are comfortable with basic analysis, and they know
what to contribute to discussions in order to make the teacher believe that they “understand” the
text. I will need to convince students that analysis is more important than this—that there are
themes and narratives in the text that are important to look at, but it is also important to
acknowledge the more subliminal narratives and the discourse that surrounds the text after it is
received by readers, and it is important to consider how to respond to these texts.
I hope to engage students by providing multiple resources to prove these theories—I want
them to see the importance of thinking about purpose, and I want them to understand how this
type of thought can be used in their writing. The content will be somewhat layered, so that the
amount of reading matches the deepness of thought that the students are asked to engage in. The
beginning of the unit will allow students to become familiar with the reading process and the
novel, and then we will progress to heavier, quicker readings with class discussions, ending with
some smaller and denser reading assignments coupled with the richer, more challenging material.
This method of instruction should give students an opportunity to become familiar with the
assignments and have plenty of time to engage with the text before they are asked to interact
with it on a deeply analytical level. This process should also give students a guide to the creative
thinking process so that they can approach texts in this way, reading for content and then for
analysis and approaching a thesis and constantly building on previous ideas.
This unit requires adaptability on the part of the instructor, because there are so many
variables that will determine how quickly the class moves through the text and how deep the
class can go into the text. The last thing I want is for the discussion to dry up or for students to
become disillusioned with literature because I am challenging them beyond their capabilities.
The challenge for me is going to be to urge creative thinking but have a sense for the culture in
the classroom and how the students are responding to the discussions and brainstorming sessions.
I need to take a step back from “teaching” in this lesson and allow the free-flowing discussions
in class, but I need to be sure that I give students the tools to move past the text on their own as
well. Many of the activities in the unit will be completed for a minimal grade, and it is not until
the final assessment that students will be really challenged to think and develop their own ideas
about the text. These activities can be done at any level of cognition, and many of them are
designed to be modified if a student needs extra help or an extra challenge. Specifically in the
cooperative lesson, students will be put in groups that reflect their abilities and the group
discussion topics range from a medium level of cognition to a more challenging level.
The unit will allow me amble time to hear the students work through their ideas in
discussion and in individual and group assignments so that while they will all complete the same
assessment, grading will be based on each individual student’s thoughts processes throughout the
unit. I will be able to determine who really challenged themselves to think through the
assessment based on their involvement in the lessons in the unit.
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Content Analysis
Cognitive Learner Objectives
Adapted from the State of Michigan High School Content Area Expectations
2.3 Develop as a reader, listener, and viewer for personal, social, and political purposes, through
independent and collaborative reading. Students will have extensive practice communicating
ideas about literature during in-class discussion, and students will be able to read literature for
purposes greater than personal enjoyment; the mentor text will demonstrate how important and
influential writing can be, and students will be able to demonstrate through discussion the
consequences of this type of literature.
4.1 Understand and use the English language effectively in a variety of contexts and settings.
The stream-of-consciousness mentor text provides a perfect opportunity for students to become
acquainted with non-standard writing styles. Students will be able to identify these styles and
talk about how they add to or hinder the text’s effectiveness. This will translate to students’ own
writing as they put together their unit essay, forming their own voice and formally discussing
these types of non-standard English.
1.3 Communicate in speech, writing, and multimedia using content, form, voice, and style
appropriate to the audience and purpose. Through our study of the mentor text, students will be
able to talk about and write about the techniques that authors use to communicate their ideas to
various audiences. These critical thought processes that students will learn and apply during inclass discussion can be used in their own writing as they develop an understanding of the best
techniques for effective purpose- and audience-centered writing.
Affective Learner Objectives
The mentor text should provide an opportunity for students to realize how effective good writing
can be, and this realization should follow an understanding that “good” writing is not exclusive
to any particular class or dialect. This should inspire students to write more and their craft and
personal voice should naturally improve.
Similarly, students should understanding the importance of articulating dispositions, opinions,
and assessments appropriately and effectively. Understanding this importance should amplify an
awareness of the need for writing and the need for intelligent participants in society. Students
should be taking an active role as members of a society which requires critical thinking and
questioning.
Because of the emphasis in this lesson on connecting ideas and constantly thinking, my goal is to
incorporate all of the objectives into every lesson. The lessons that I included here do focus on
one or two objectives, but through all lessons students should be consciously working on
improving skills with reading, writing, and language use.
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Letter to parents
Hello! We are about to begin a very exciting unit, which will hopefully challenge your
students creativity in both their reading and writing skills. This unit will require a lot of critical
thinking, as we will be using a dense novel to work on analyzing political, social, and cultural
situations. Students will be challenged to think about writer’s craft and voice, especially how we
as writers can respond to literature and how our responses hold importance. The novel we will
be reading is Johnny Got His Gun, which students (hopefully!) all purchased at the beginning of
the school year. If your student does not have a book yet, please contact me directly and I can
help get one for them. I will have a few copies available for use in class that students may check
out if absolutely necessary and I know that the library has two copies available. All other
materials, including a few essays and articles that we will be looking at will be provided in class.
This unit is going to require that students read the entire novel, and I really urge that they
take this requirement seriously because the final essay/project requires an extensive amount of
creative thinking and reflection on the novel as a whole. Success will depend on students’
thorough understanding of the text and ability to provide examples and quotations that support
their complex thesis. We will spend plenty of class time analyzing and discussing the text as a
group, but most of the reading will have to be done at home. I will encourage the students to set
aside a convenient and comfortable time and space for reading, and I encourage your
participation in this as well. If it is possible, allow your student ample time for reading and study
by giving them a quiet and comfortable space where they can work undisturbed and undistracted.
If you foresee any struggles or problems with getting the assigned reading done, please contact
me and I will attempt to work something out with your student. The beginning of the unit will
require a reading of up to 40 pages a night, which will fade to a smaller number as the novel
progresses and the reading becomes more dense and students are given more to think about and
analyze. The lessons will be structured such that each reading is followed by a class discussion,
so that reading is required for participation but there is no formal assessment of the reading until
the end of the unit. This means that while I’d like all students to be ready to participate for each
discussion, it is possible to read ahead or postpone some reading if absolutely necessary
throughout the unit. Again, if you foresee this being necessary, please contact me.
Please feel free to engage in conversation with your student about the reading—if you
haven’t read the novel before, I would even encourage picking it up to read with them! The
topics are relevant to us all and I’m sure you have opinions that you could share with your
student. That being said, please also feel free to review the novel and let me know if you have
any concerns about content or language. There is some strong language in the novel, but I feel
that it is appropriate to our study of voice and writing. The topics are controversial and heavy,
but we will be discussing them as readers, observers, and writers, as our students grow to be
participants in a society full of controversial topics.
Thank you for your support with this unit. As always, feel free to contact me anytime
with questions or concerns.
Matt Hamilton
Mhamil12@emich.edu
810-210-6756
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Pre-assessment
Because students will be expected to read much of this novel through the lens of a writer, the
pre-assessment for the unit will be a writing assignment that answers the following questions:
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Why do you write? Why do you read?
What do you believe about World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War?
o Cause?
o Countries involved?
o Result?
What do you believe about war in general?
Thoughts on American culture? What do you think is the ideal American era?
How important do you think your opinions are?
What would you change about society the way it is right now?
The assignment that is presented to students will read as follows:
Write a 1-2 page reflection that answers these questions. This assignment will not be
graded; it’s a way for me to gauge your thoughts and mode of critical thinking before we
begin the novel. Please reflect honestly and write in whatever style feels appropriate to
your thoughts. There is no need to worry about paragraphing or grammar for this
assignment; I merely ask that I be able to read and understand what you are saying. Try
to flow from one question to another as smoothly as possible. While the purpose of this
exercise is for me to understand how you’re thinking, it’s also a chance for you to
demonstrate and practice your reflective creative writing skills. Flex your writing muscle
and answer the questions brutally and honestly!
As expressed in the assignment, this exercise is beneficial for both student and teacher. The
focus for the teacher, after reviewing these reflections, will be to gauge where students are in
their critical thinking; how deep they delve into the questions and how excited their responses
are will be indicative of their interest in the topics. Ideally, this assignment will push students to
begin thinking about how they can translate their thoughts on controversial topics to writing,
without directly pushing them to “take a stand.” Getting their thinking into this mode will put
them in a place where they can understand the writing style and purpose of Johnny Got His Gun,
and they will then be able to evaluate the novel more from the standpoint of a writer, not just as a
reader. These papers will also give me an idea of where the students stand in relation to
language use and writing ability.
After reading the assignments and making these considerations, the lessons will be adjusted
accordingly. If student performance indicates that they need more practice writing, the lessons
will incorporate more reflective writing in the form of summarizing and analyzing the text after
the daily homework reading assignments. If their writing seems to be on par but majority of
students did not seem very involved in the topics, I will incorporate more class discussions and
write questions that should encourage deeper levels of critical thinking. The structure of the
content-heavy lessons will be able to remain the same so that I can adjust the interludes of
discussion, reading, and writing; and ideally by the end of the unit students will all be at a similar
point in their thinking where they can complete the final assessment.
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-
-
Why do you write? Why do you read?
What do you believe about World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War?
o Cause?
o Countries involved?
o Result?
What do you believe about war in general?
Thoughts on American culture? What do you think is the ideal American era?
How important do you think your opinions are?
What would you change about society the way it is right now?
Write a 1-2 page reflection that answers these questions. This assignment will not be graded; it’s
a way for me to gauge your thoughts and mode of critical thinking before we begin the novel.
Please reflect honestly and write in whatever style feels appropriate to your thoughts. There is
no need to worry about paragraphing or grammar for this assignment; I merely ask that I be able
to read and understand what you are saying. Try to flow from one question to another as
smoothly as possible. While the purpose of this exercise is for me to understand how you’re
thinking, it’s also a chance for you to demonstrate and practice your reflective creative writing
skills. Flex your writing muscle and answer the questions brutally and honestly!
-
-
Why do you write? Why do you read?
What do you believe about World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War?
o Cause?
o Countries involved?
o Result?
What do you believe about war in general?
Thoughts on American culture? What do you think is the ideal American era?
How important do you think your opinions are?
What would you change about society the way it is right now?
Write a 1-2 page reflection that answers these questions. This assignment will not be graded; it’s
a way for me to gauge your thoughts and mode of critical thinking before we begin the novel.
Please reflect honestly and write in whatever style feels appropriate to your thoughts. There is
no need to worry about paragraphing or grammar for this assignment; I merely ask that I be able
to read and understand what you are saying. Try to flow from one question to another as
smoothly as possible. While the purpose of this exercise is for me to understand how you’re
thinking, it’s also a chance for you to demonstrate and practice your reflective creative writing
skills. Flex your writing muscle and answer the questions brutally and honestly!
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Connecting Texts through Mythology and Narrative
Direct Lesson
Purpose: To explore two common points of analysis in literature: mythology and narrative.
Objectives: Students will be able to recognize and discuss mythological allusions and narratives
within a text or a series of connected texts. Through this discussion, students will be prepared to
apply these ideas to commentary or analytical writing in the form of an academic essay about the
text.
Connections to Standards: 2.1 Develop critical reading, listening, and viewing strategies; 3.1
Develop the skills of close and contextual literary reading; 3.3 Use knowledge of literary history,
traditions, and theory to respond to and analyze the meaning of texts.
Set Activity: To be projected at the front of class as students are entering: Once the bell rings,
you will have six minutes to write a summary of the chapters that we have read thus far. This
summary should include what you think is the most important information and events that we
should know in order to begin discussing the chapters in more depth. After these six minutes, I
will choose one of you to read your summary and, as a class, we will add to it until we have a
basic understanding of the plot of the novel. This is where we will begin our discussion, and our
discussion will not include any of these general understandings—instead, we will analyze the
text on a much deeper level.
Information and Modeling #1:
I.
Mythology
a. Definition: “1. A body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a
particular person. 4. A set of stories, traditions, or beliefs associated with a
particular group or the history of an even, arising naturally or deliberately
fostered.” Myths come from tradition and from history, and the important
distinction that we will rely on for literary study is that myths are recorded. There
are specific stories or beliefs that come from myths that one can identify in
history. At some point, a myth was written down or spoken to an audience so that
it would be remembered and reflected upon. This allows mythologies to be
specifically alluded to in literary work, which we will talk about more soon.
b. Where do mythologies come from? Mythologies are usually easy to pin down
historically because they tend to be tied with a social or religious group, and
groups like this tend to take pride in tradition. You can find the origin of a myth
by tracing its ancestry—for a religious myth, look for the immediate source
(perhaps in a sermon or class) and then identify the teacher or preacher, who will
probably be able to point you towards the original teaching, which will either be a
written tradition from the Church or a teaching from a holy book or scripture.
Sometimes mythologies are found in art or media; there is a lot of scholarship that
surrounds attempting to pinpoint the allusions in these representations. Myths
that are perpetuated in art are usually from some sort of written record that can be
found after some research.
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II.
c. Allusions are the main source of intrigue when studying mythology. In any text,
there will be representations that appear because of the author’s previous
experience with some sort of mythology—sometimes these allusions have
purpose, sometimes they exist subconsciously. An allusion is a reference in a text
to another specific Text. Text with a capital T because allusions can refer or
parallel written text, but also art, media, history, etc. This is important to
remember when identifying allusions in literature. An allusion is essentially any
reference that can be traced to a point outside of the work being studied.
i. Allusions exist to add complexity to the text. Some theorists will argue
that it is impossible for a text to exist entirely by itself. While we’re not
looking at this sort of theory, it’s interesting to keep in mind—what would
happen if we read a text that relied only on its singular plot, characters,
and setting? It would probably be boring for us to read, because we would
have no way of making connections with the text. Allusions get us outside
the text, connecting the singular work with other bodies of writing and
other elements that are contextually significant. This type of thinking
makes our job as readers more interesting and allows for enhanced critical
analysis when the time comes to write or talk about the piece.
ii. Allusions demand reader interpretation. Alongside the significance of
making connections in a text is the role of reader as interpreter. When
allusions exist in a text, there is a necessity for the reader to interpret the
work. Knowing and recognizing allusions in literature is part of being a
participatory and critical reader. Allusions almost force us to make
decisions about a text, and rely on our personal interpretations for how the
allusion acts in the text. Think of it this way: we each personally interpret
everything we read. If we have interpreted a previous text differently that
another writer, when we read that writer’s allusion, it is going to inspire
different thought for us that what the writer intended. And that is not a
bad thing!
d. Examples
i. Religious allusion- Biblical references and quotations from scripture,
references to Classical mythology (characters named after Gods,
references in setting)
ii. Nationalistic mythology comes out of the literary and artistic movements
within any particular country or nation. These myths project an image of
nationalism and represent traditions and values that are important to
members of the nation. Examples that should be familiar to us (American
mythology) include George Washington and the cherry tree, the Lewis and
Clark explorer mythology, and the Uncle Sam figure.
Narratives
a. A little more difficult that a dictionary definition. “1. A story or account of
events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious.” While discussion of
narratives comes from this definition, a narrative in a text is not always a story in
itself. This definition gives the idea that narratives are books, records, or
otherwise physically documented experiences which we can read and consider.
When we talk about narrative in a text, it usually references a storyline, but
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sometimes it exists superficially. Narratives are much harder to pinpoint than
mythologies because of where they come from.
b. Where do they come from?
i. Mythologies can be traced to a single, historical source. Narratives can
sometimes function like mythologies in this way, but usually they will
exist without a comprehensive origin. A narrative is a thread of discourse,
a commonly held belief, something that readers recognize and relate but
don’t really talk about all that much. It’s not as tangible as a mythology,
and thus harder to define origin-wise. Sometimes narratives are created by
the author, and we can talk about the storyline of a text and how it acts as
a narrative. Sometimes narratives come from outside the text—in this
case, it can be a sort-of-myth if we can find an origin; or it can be a
subconscious narrative that exists in society.
ii. The narrative can function as an authorial assumption or as commentary
by the author. This means that sometimes we find narratives in texts that
are perpetuated or simply assumed by the author, and that it exists because
it is a common thread in society, and people will recognize it and think
nothing more of it. (Readers can choose to agree or disagree with this
assumption on the part of the author!) The narrative can also be a
commentary by the author, meaning that it exists in the text because it is
part of society, but because the author doesn’t agree with the discourse or
wants to criticize it. As critical readers, we pick up on this and reflect on
it in our response to the text.
c. How does narrative differ from mythology?
i. Origin. As we discussed, mythologies tend to have a decisive origin and
tend to be passed on through tradition. Narratives are not only harder to
trace, but also tend to “arise” out of “popular opinion”. This makes
analysis complicated because we have to look at where the narratives may
have come from and what “popular” means—if it is a subconscious
agreement among the people of a society, or if it is something imposed by
a dominant class in society.
ii. Verifiable?
iii. Not as well-known or immediately obvious
d. Examples: The debate between homeschooling and public schooling relies on
narratives that either of the options is better or more effective. A popular and
successful narrative in the food industry is that local, homegrown products taste
better.
Check for Understanding #1:
Thinking about these basic definitions of mythology and narrative, we’re going to see if we can
distinguish between the two. It is important to be able to talk about both of these because they
allow you as a reader to make different assumptions when you analyze a text. If you are talking
about an author’s reference to Classical mythology, you are essentially comparing and
contrasting another historical text; if you look at an author’s use of a certain narrative, you need
to examine how that narrative has developed and how this comes into play in the text. I’m going
to give you a mythological reference or something I consider to be a popular narrative—I want
you to respond by holding up your book, if you show me the front cover your response is “myth”
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if you show me the back cover your response is “narrative.” Be prepared to defend or explain
your answer.
Selections:
1. A character in a novel remarks that something is his “Achilles’ heel”
2. After a long journey abroad, a character returns to his father’s house and his
father calls him “the prodigal son”
3. A female character spends all of her time cooking, cleaning, and looking after
her family, and is always depicted as being happy with this lifestyle.
4. The protagonist of a novel has a dream in which he envisions a snake trying to
convince him to do something bad.
5. The father character in a novella is constantly distressed because he is not as
successful a businessman as some of his colleagues, and he doesn’t feel like
an adequate husband or father.
6. A teenage character in a play is constantly fighting with her parents. The play
focuses a lot on the parents and how they are struggling to deal with their
daughter.
7. One of the best friends of the protagonist in a short story always wears yellow,
and betrays the protagonist at the end of the story.
Information and Modeling #2: How we respond as readers and writers
The words “myth” and “narrative” are interesting words that you can (and should) use in essays
when you’re writing about literature. Whether or not you want your whole essay to be about a
myth that the text is rewriting, if you acknowledge that the allusion is present your essay will
become exceedingly more credible. Ideally, there is something that we as readers can learn from
analyzing myths and narratives in texts and how the author has put them to use. We can agree
with the author and use our essay to re-iterate and explain his motives for including the allusion,
or we can disagree and criticize the craft; we can examine the text through any variety of lenses
and use the allusion as a sort of “outside source” that supports the argument. Sometimes it will
make the analysis more complex, and sometimes it will make it simpler.
The first step is to identify the allusion or reference to narrative and determine what it means.
This means researching the historical and social context of the text that is being alluded to, and
then researching the historical and social context of the novel to see how these relate.
Remember, allusions exist in literature to connect human experience. This means that writers are
either pulling from previous literary understanding or trying to re-write these texts. Once you
have a working knowledge of the myth or narrative, you have to figure out how it fits with the
rest of the text. Brainstorm, map things out—you want to gain a general reading of the entire
text with your particular allusion in mind. Let’s practice.
We’re going to look at a text that is actually alluded to in Johnny Got His Gun. I’m not spoiling
anything by looking at it; maybe it will prove significant for your analyses—that’s for you to
decide. I chose this because it is in the text and it’s going to help us look at narratives and
mythology. We’re going to look at a 19th century poem called “The Charge of the Light
Brigade” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. [begin passing out poem] I’m going to project the poem
and read it aloud since it’s not too long. Please follow along as I read……..
14
We’re not going to spend too much time look at this poem, because it’s mainly going to be an
illustration of how mythology and narratives can exist in any text. If we were going into more
detail, we would of course look at the historical record and significance of the Battle of
Balaclava in 1854 to which the poem references—I’ll tell you in brief that the battle was fought
during the Crimean War, which was a war fought with the Russian Empire on one side and just
about all of Europe on the other, during a time when the various empires of Europe were fighting
about what should happen with the territories of the declining Ottoman empire. This battle in
particular was between a British cavalry force and a segment of the Russian army. As you can
imagine from the poem, about 600 British charged and were mercilessly defeated by a stronger
and more well-equipped Russian army. Of interest to us is the line “Into the valley of Death”:
this is an allusion that many of us will easily recognize as being part of Judeo-Christian
mythology. Sometimes an allusion will be something we recognize immediately, sometimes it
will be after learning about the text in class or after reading previous scholarship on the text. The
allusion is to Psalm 23, where the exact text is “the valley of the shadow of Death.” The Psalm
praises God’s company and protection through all worldly trials. The Psalm was then (and still
is) read frequently at funerals. After looking at this context, we need to turn back to the poem
and look for the significance of this allusion. In this case, it is quite literal—it turns out that the
British cavalry were quite literally riding into a valley where they were surrounded by opposing
forces. Looking at both of these contexts allows us to brainstorm ideas about death imagery and
misplaced faith on the part of the cavalrymen—both ideas that one could easily write an essay
on!
Next, we’re going to look at a narrative in the poem. We can keep the analysis simple by
identifying a stand-alone narrative in the text and develop an essay around that. I would like to
talk about a narrative that exists in the fourth and fifth stanzas, beginning with “Flash’d all their
sabres bare,/ Flash’d as they turn’d in air’ Sabring the gunners there” (27-29). I am thinking
about a narrative that exists in our culture (or possible a historical narrative that existed at the
time this poem was written) that says that flashy sabres are heroic. Tennyson makes a play on
this later in stanza five where it reads, “While horse and hero fell”. Looking at this narrative,
and perhaps where the narrative exists in other media or other texts from the period, we could
form a thesis around the fact that this particular charge was far from heroic, and the flashy sabres
of the cavalrymen against the gunned Russian army represent more stupidity and absurdity than
heroism and honour. In this case, we would be criticizing this narrative because it isn’t very
accurate or practical. Another narrative analysis could stem from the mythological allusion; we
mentioned the possibility of a commentary on misplaced faith in the cavalrymen—perhaps the
religious allusion in the poem means to comment on a narrative that the army takes undying faith
which should be invested in God and invests it instead in one’s nation.
Check for Understanding #2:
As a class, let’s brainstorm how some of these ideas would work in an essay. Let’s pretend we
are writing an essay about Tennyson’s poem and we want to focus on how mythology functions
as a thematic force towards the purpose of the poem. We will start by designing a concept map
to illustrate the various functions of mythology and how these functions are connected with the
purpose of the poem. Prompt students with questions such as “What should be the main
mythology that we investigate? And what do we know about this mythology? What does the poem
15
say about it? What does the poem imply? etc to encourage dialogue throughout the class so that
all students are participating in the creation of our concept map.
Information and Modeling #3:
Mythology and narratives are going to become very important in our discussion of the coming
chapters of the text. As Joe begins to develop his psyche and awareness more in Book II, we can
identify more and more allusions and the narratives that Trumbo is commenting on become
much more apparent. So far, Joe has been remembering stories from his life before the war,
focusing on memories of his family life, girlfriends, and previous jobs. The most obvious
narrative in this section of the novel is that of nostalgia, although there is no direct reference to
any American mythology; this theme is more a detail of Joe’s musings and reminiscing,
appropriate to his condition. He remembers his life as a younger boy and he remembers his
family adoringly; he thinks about his father’s garden which supported the family nearly perfectly
(this kind of self-sustainability is a classic image of nostalgic pastoralism); he remembers easier
times with friends and girls before his father died and he entered a war which had nothing to do
with him. Joe chooses to focus on his memories early on as a distraction from the pain of his
condition, although he constantly dips in and out of consciousness. Often, Joe is found unable to
distinguish reality from memory and his mind suffers intensely because of this. This introduces
another narrative that follows a conception of war as torturously chaotic, and mentally
detrimental to all involved. It is at the very end of Book I that Joe begins thinking deeply about
how lonely he is and how much he longs to be back inside his memories, and eventually how
much he hates the war and what happened while he was serving in Europe.
In Book II, which we will begin reading in class, Joe starts focusing much more on specific
memories, attempting to place himself within his own quasi-society, where all he has is his mind.
Joe continues to remember anecdotes, more and more from during the war, and countless
allusions are incorporated into his own thinking. The narratives surrounding war and humanity
and freedom are expressed more and more as Joe develops his own thoughts and even attempts
to communicate with the outside world.
Guided Practice:
We’re going to start reading this section in class so that we can recognize and talk about some of
the allusions that are present (there are many in the first pages of the chapter) and hopefully we
can get a sense of how these narratives will act in the text. Remember that allusions of any sort
demand reader interpretation—so if you read something that you like or that you think you see
an allusion in, take it and run with it! The fun part about this kind of analysis is that you can
look at a very specific reference and abstract it to find it in other parts of the text.
Read the first few pages of Book II, chapter xi.
See book (pages 123-126) for notes and discussion points. Take the time to discuss each allusion
individually and assess its significance, even though in this section the allusions do not seem that
significant. Remind students that it is up to them (the reader) to assess and assign significance to
certain passages—the smallest reference can provide a thesis for an essay.
16
Independent Practice:
Students will be assigned the next two chapters to read for homework, which have a lot of
allusions that we will discuss during the following class period.
17
“The Charge of the Light Brigade”
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1854
1.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
2.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!"
Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
3.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.
4.
Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air,
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.
5.
Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.
6.
When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wondered.
Honor the charge they made,
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred.
18
PowerPoint Slides (to be used with the lesson)
Once the bell rings, you will have six minutes to
write a summary of the [novel/chapter(s)] that
we have read. This summary should include what
you think are the most important information
and events that we should know in order to begin
discussing the [novel/chapter(s)] in more depth.
Be prepared to share your summary with the
class as we begin our discussion of the novel.
Your summaries will be used as our “prior
knowledge” so that our discussion will not
include any of these general understandings—
instead, we will analyze the text on a much
deeper level.
Mythology - definition
• “1. A body of myths, as that of a particular
people or that relating to a particular person.
4. A set of stories, traditions, or beliefs
associated with a particular group or the
history of an even, arising naturally or
deliberately fostered.”
• Recorded stories or beliefs
19
Allusions
• Definition - Any reference that can be traced
to a point outside of the work being studied
• Connect human experience- in art, history,
literature, etc.
• Add textual complexity
• Demand reader interpretation
Narratives
• “1. A story or account of events, experiences,
or the like, whether true or fictitious.”
• A thread of discourse or commonly held belief
• Recognizable, but usually not a direct
reference or allusion, and much more difficult
to pinpoint origin
• Can function as assumption or commentary by
the author of a text
20
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
21
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
22
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
23
English Language Standards: Required or Recommended?
Direct Lesson
This page is meant to serve as a placeholder for a larger lesson on standards in English language
speaking and writing. The structure of this course did not allow for the inclusion of this lesson in
the unit, but much like the multiple discussion-based lessons involving the readings, this lesson
will be included in the “real-life” lesson as it is necessary for the flow of the main ideas and for
expanding students’ thinking.
The focus of the lesson will be on English as a dialect and an academic standard, which will then
segue into a discussion on what changes and allowances are appropriate for fiction and other
non-academic writing. The goals of this unit are to encourage students to begin creatively
manipulating language and to teach the value of evaluating language from multiple perspectives.
This lesson will again work alongside discussion of the novel, and will work as a transition into
the enrichment experience where students form their own ideas about the importance of language
and how it works in their lives.
24
The Importance of Having a Voice: Lessons from “The
Living”
Enrichment Lesson
Purpose: To explore Joe’s situation in Johnny Got His Gun and demonstrate the difficulty of
being unable to speak; to look at the reason for this theme in the novel and the importance of
speaking out and being heard.
Objectives: This lesson should engage students in a discussion about the paradox in the novel of
Joe having so much to say but no ability to say it. Students will understand this paradox and how
it functions in the novel. Students should also be thinking about the importance of their own
voice and how important it is to be heard when you have something to say.
Connections to standards: 2.3 Develop as a reader, listener, and viewer for personal, social, and
political purposes.
Present students with the following assignment at the end of class, following the direct lesson on
language variation and importance:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What is one thing that you want more than anything in the world? A fantastic vacation? To be
done with school? Great pizza for lunch every day (free)? Think for a minute and then write
down your wish here:
I really want _______________________.
For the next 24 hours, your assignment is to get this message across to someone. Anyone. You
need to tell one person, and after one person discovers this, you can’t discuss it with anyone else.
You cannot speak these words, you cannot write these words down, and you cannot hand anyone
this piece of paper. You do not have the ability to approach anyone with this information—you
must wait until someone begins to question you about the specific topic. If they are able to
understand you without you speaking or writing the sentence, you can nod to assure that they
have discovered your wish, and then you should let them respond. If you get to this point, write
down their response and reflect on how it made you feel. Were they excited about it? Did they
offer to satisfy your wish? If you get a chance, reflect on the process of revealing your
statement… what made it difficult? What do you wish you could change about the assignment to
make it easier?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Day 2
Set Activity: Reflect on the experience on having something to say but no way to say it. What
was difficult about the experience? Did you get frustrated? What would have made it easier for
25
you? How does an experience like this change your perspective on language? What would you
do if you had no chance to speak, ever?
Introduction: Invite students to share their experiences from the previous day. Discuss the
questions from the set activity as a class, reflecting on how difficult it is to communicate with no
language and no ability to express your thoughts. Move students into a thought process that
involves discussion on the importance of language, communication, and understanding. For the
students that were able to be understood, ask them about the response that they received.
Hopefully, it was somewhat underwhelming and anti-climactic (much like Joe’s experience in
the novel). This should further the notion that being able to communicate effectively can have a
huge impact on how the message is received. These conclusions will move the discussion into
the next section.
Discussion: Having finished Johnny Got His Gun, we can probably all conclude that this is an
“anti-war” novel. The focus of the novel is on Joe and his experiences that led him up to where
he is in the hospital, and also on how he is dealing with his current condition. The novel, with its
powerful language and strong imagery, can obviously be used as a resource to draw anti-war
critiques and socio-political arguments. What is also important to look at, however, is the
delivery and reception of the novel itself, and what that implies. We should examine the
language in the sense that language is presentation of ideas and how that relates with the text as a
whole. In the context of Johnny Got His Gun, the presentation is that of a “living corpse” who
cannot communicate in any “normal” way. We are immersed in the thoughts of this former man,
reliving his experiences and his memories with him, but also reading from a very far away
contextual standpoint. If we further examine the language and the tone of the novel, we can
conclude that Dalton Trumbo wants the reader to be in this position to understand the importance
of language. Trumbo is using a rich, fantastic form of the language to describe (quite
horrifically) the agony of one who does not have the luxury of language. The experience of
reading this novel should be much like your experience yesterday, hopefully making you truly
appreciate the richness of communication and understanding.
This direction of thought will inevitably lead us to an analysis of the last part of the book, where
Joe is finally able to communicate with someone and he is effectively silenced. The book does
not end on a hopeful note; while Joe is fired up about his ideas and his message that the world
needs to know, he is still unable to communicate and is kept inside the hospital, regardless of his
ambitions. [Enter into an inductive discussion, where the class looks at the novel’s ending
through the lens of what was taught in the direct lesson and what they experienced through the
simulation activity.]
Questions for guiding discussion:
- What is Trumbo saying by finally giving Joe a voice and then allowing it to be
silenced at the end of the novel?
- What sort of ideas was Joe having once he found a way to communicate? Why would
these be “against regulations”?
- How does this response relate to the responses you received when trying to relay your
messages yesterday?
- What does this say about the importance of delivery?
26

Big Picture Question: One might say that the theme and purpose of the entire novel
can be summed up in Joe’s “speech” at the end, when he is finally able to
communicate. If this is true, why are we reading the novel? Why was Joe’s voice
silenced, while Trumbo’s lives on 70 years later, saying the same thing? What can
we infer about the language and the importance of writing from this paradox?
Homework/Reflection: Students will read “Lost In Translation” from The Wall Street Journal,
which evaluates language use from a more psychological and linguistic standpoint. The purpose
of including this reading will be to further think about the importance of language, speech, and
writing in the context of critical thinking and being understood. Students will be reminded that
Joe’s method of communication can be treated as a language in the sense that this article talks
about language; how does the language shape the reception? Students should continue thinking
about why Trumbo’s novel is so effective.
Assignment: Read “Lost in Translation” from The Wall Street Journal for homework tonight.
This article is written by a psychologist who has studied what effects language has on thought
processes and our understandings. Think about these findings in light of our discussion on
purpose and style in writing. How does this relate to Trumbo’s use of stream-of-consciousness
writing? How does this relate to the experience of Joe—did his position and language shape his
thought? Did he “speak” differently because of his handicap? In your own experience
yesterday, did you feel as though you couldn’t be understood because of your lack of common
language? How might you conclude language shapes reception, and how can you apply this to
your writing? Reflect on these questions and in a 1-2 paragraph response, try to answer
some of these questions.
27
What is one thing that you want more than anything in the world? A fantastic vacation? To be
done with school? Great pizza for lunch every day (free)? Think for a minute and then write
down your wish here:
I really want _______________________.
For the next 24 hours, your assignment is to get this message across to someone. Anyone. You
can tell one person, and after one person discovers this, you can’t discuss it with anyone else.
You cannot speak these words, you cannot write these words down, and you cannot hand anyone
this piece of paper. You do not have the ability to approach anyone with this information—you
must wait until someone begins to question you about the specific topic. If they are able to
understand you without you speaking or writing the sentence, you can nod to assure that they
have discovered your wish, and then you should let them respond. If you get to this point, write
down their response and reflect on how it made you feel. Were they excited about it? Did they
offer to satisfy your wish? If you get a chance, reflect on the process of revealing your
statement… what made it difficult? What do you wish you could change about the assignment to
make it easier?
What is one thing that you want more than anything in the world? A fantastic vacation? To be
done with school? Great pizza for lunch every day (free)? Think for a minute and then write
down your wish here:
I really want _______________________.
For the next 24 hours, your assignment is to get this message across to someone. Anyone. You
can tell one person, and after one person discovers this, you can’t discuss it with anyone else.
You cannot speak these words, you cannot write these words down, and you cannot hand anyone
this piece of paper. You do not have the ability to approach anyone with this information—you
must wait until someone begins to question you about the specific topic. If they are able to
understand you without you speaking or writing the sentence, you can nod to assure that they
have discovered your wish, and then you should let them respond. If you get to this point, write
down their response and reflect on how it made you feel. Were they excited about it? Did they
offer to satisfy your wish? If you get a chance, reflect on the process of revealing your
statement… what made it difficult? What do you wish you could change about the assignment to
make it easier?
Reproducible
28
Reflect on the experience on having
something to say but no way to say it. What
was difficult about the experience? Did you
get frustrated? What would have made it
easier for you? How does an experience like
this change your perspective on language?
What would you do if you had no chance to
speak, ever?
29
Read “Lost in Translation” from The Wall Street Journal for homework
tonight. This article is written by a psychologist who has studied what
effects language has on thought processes and our understandings.
Think about these findings in light of our discussion on purpose and
style in writing. How does this relate to Trumbo’s use of stream-ofconsciousness writing? How does this relate to the experience of Joe—
did his position and language shape his thought? Did he “speak”
differently because of his handicap? In your own experience yesterday,
did you feel as though you couldn’t be understood because of your lack
of common language? How might you conclude language shapes
reception, and how can you apply this to your writing? Reflect on these
questions and in a 1-2 paragraph response, try to answer some of
these questions.
Read “Lost in Translation” from The Wall Street Journal for homework
tonight. This article is written by a psychologist who has studied what
effects language has on thought processes and our understandings.
Think about these findings in light of our discussion on purpose and
style in writing. How does this relate to Trumbo’s use of stream-ofconsciousness writing? How does this relate to the experience of Joe—
did his position and language shape his thought? Did he “speak”
differently because of his handicap? In your own experience yesterday,
did you feel as though you couldn’t be understood because of your lack
of common language? How might you conclude language shapes
reception, and how can you apply this to your writing? Reflect on these
questions and in a 1-2 paragraph response, try to answer some of
these questions.
30
Lost in Translation
New cognitive research suggests that language profoundly influences the way people see the
world; a different sense of blame in Japanese and Spanish
By LERA BORODITSKY
The Gallery
Collection/Corbis
'The Tower of Babel' by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1563.
Do the languages we speak shape the way we think? Do they merely express thoughts, or do the
structures in languages (without our knowledge or consent) shape the very thoughts we wish to
express?
Take "Humpty Dumpty sat on a..." Even this snippet of a nursery rhyme reveals how much languages
can differ from one another. In English, we have to mark the verb for tense; in this case, we say "sat"
rather than "sit." In Indonesian you need not (in fact, you can't) change the verb to mark tense.
In Russian, you would have to mark tense and also gender, changing the verb if Mrs. Dumpty did the
sitting. You would also have to decide if the sitting event was completed or not. If our ovoid hero sat
on the wall for the entire time he was meant to, it would be a different form of the verb than if, say,
he had a great fall.
In Turkish, you would have to include in the verb how you acquired this information. For example, if
you saw the chubby fellow on the wall with your own eyes, you'd use one form of the verb, but if you
had simply read or heard about it, you'd use a different form.
31
Do English, Indonesian, Russian and Turkish speakers end up attending to, understanding, and
remembering their experiences differently simply because they speak different languages?
These questions touch on all the major controversies in the study of mind, with important
implications for politics, law and religion. Yet very little empirical work had been done on these
questions until recently. The idea that language might shape thought was for a long time considered
untestable at best and more often simply crazy and wrong. Now, a flurry of new cognitive science
research is showing that in fact, language does profoundly influence how we see the world.
The question of whether languages shape the way we think goes back centuries; Charlemagne
proclaimed that "to have a second language is to have a second soul." But the idea went out of favor
with scientists when Noam Chomsky's theories of language gained popularity in the 1960s and '70s.
Dr. Chomsky proposed that there is a universal grammar for all human languages—essentially, that
languages don't really differ from one another in significant ways. And because languages didn't
differ from one another, the theory went, it made no sense to ask whether linguistic differences led to
differences in thinking.
The search for linguistic universals yielded interesting data on languages, but after decades of work,
not a single proposed universal has withstood scrutiny. Instead, as linguists probed deeper into the
world's languages (7,000 or so, only a fraction of them analyzed), innumerable unpredictable
differences emerged.
Of course, just because people talk differently doesn't necessarily mean they think differently. In the
past decade, cognitive scientists have begun to measure not just how people talk, but also how they
think, asking whether our understanding of even such fundamental domains of experience as space,
time and causality could be constructed by language.
For example, in Pormpuraaw, a remote Aboriginal community in Australia, the indigenous languages
don't use terms like "left" and "right." Instead, everything is talked about in terms of absolute
cardinal directions (north, south, east, west), which means you say things like, "There's an ant on
your southwest leg." To say hello in Pormpuraaw, one asks, "Where are you going?", and an
appropriate response might be, "A long way to the south-southwest. How about you?" If you don't
know which way is which, you literally can't get past hello.
About a third of the world's languages (spoken in all kinds of physical environments) rely on absolute
directions for space. As a result of this constant linguistic training, speakers of such languages are
remarkably good at staying oriented and keeping track of where they are, even in unfamiliar
landscapes. They perform navigational feats scientists once thought were beyond human capabilities.
This is a big difference, a fundamentally different way of conceptualizing space, trained by language.
32
Differences in how people think about space don't end there. People rely on their spatial knowledge
to build many other more complex or abstract representations including time, number, musical
pitch, kinship relations, morality and emotions. So if Pormpuraawans think differently about space,
do they also think differently about other things, like time?
To find out, my colleague Alice Gaby and I traveled to Australia and gave Pormpuraawans sets of
pictures that showed temporal progressions (for example, pictures of a man at different ages, or a
crocodile growing, or a banana being eaten). Their job was to arrange the shuffled photos on the
ground to show the correct temporal order. We tested each person in two separate sittings, each time
facing in a different cardinal direction. When asked to do this, English speakers arrange time from
left to right. Hebrew speakers do it from right to left (because Hebrew is written from right to left).
Pormpuraawans, we found, arranged time from east to west. That is, seated facing south, time went
left to right. When facing north, right to left. When facing east, toward the body, and so on. Of
course, we never told any of our participants which direction they faced. The Pormpuraawans not
only knew that already, but they also spontaneously used this spatial orientation to construct their
representations of time. And many other ways to organize time exist in the world's languages. In
Mandarin, the future can be below and the past above. In Aymara, spoken in South America, the
future is behind and the past in front.
In addition to space and time, languages also shape how we understand causality. For example,
English likes to describe events in terms of agents doing things. English speakers tend to say things
like "John broke the vase" even for accidents. Speakers of Spanish or Japanese would be more likely
to say "the vase broke itself." Such differences between languages have profound consequences for
how their speakers understand events, construct notions of causality and agency, what they
remember as eyewitnesses and how much they blame and punish others.
In studies conducted by Caitlin Fausey at Stanford, speakers of English, Spanish and Japanese
watched videos of two people popping balloons, breaking eggs and spilling drinks either intentionally
or accidentally. Later everyone got a surprise memory test: For each event, can you remember who
did it? She discovered a striking cross-linguistic difference in eyewitness memory. Spanish and
Japanese speakers did not remember the agents of accidental events as well as did English speakers.
Mind you, they remembered the agents of intentional events (for which their language would
mention the agent) just fine. But for accidental events, when one wouldn't normally mention the
agent in Spanish or Japanese, they didn't encode or remember the agent as well.
In another study, English speakers watched the video of Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe
malfunction" (a wonderful nonagentive coinage introduced into the English language by Justin
Timberlake), accompanied by one of two written reports. The reports were identical except in the last
sentence where one used the agentive phrase "ripped the costume" while the other said "the costume
33
ripped." Even though everyone watched the same video and witnessed the ripping with their own
eyes, language mattered. Not only did people who read "ripped the costume" blame Justin
Timberlake more, they also levied a whopping 53% more in fines.
Beyond space, time and causality, patterns in language have been shown to shape many other
domains of thought. Russian speakers, who make an extra distinction between light and dark blues
in their language, are better able to visually discriminate shades of blue. The Piraha, a tribe in the
Amazon in Brazil, whose language eschews number words in favor of terms like few and many, are
not able to keep track of exact quantities. And Shakespeare, it turns out, was wrong about roses:
Roses by many other names (as told to blindfolded subjects) do not smell as sweet.
Patterns in language offer a window on a culture's dispositions and priorities. For example, English
sentence structures focus on agents, and in our criminal-justice system, justice has been done when
we've found the transgressor and punished him or her accordingly (rather than finding the victims
and restituting appropriately, an alternative approach to justice). So does the language shape cultural
values, or does the influence go the other way, or both?
Languages, of course, are human creations, tools we invent and hone to suit our needs. Simply
showing that speakers of different languages think differently doesn't tell us whether it's language
that shapes thought or the other way around. To demonstrate the causal role of language, what's
needed are studies that directly manipulate language and look for effects in cognition.
That language embodies different ways of knowing the world seems
intuitive, given the number of times we reach for a word or phrase in
another language that communicates that certain je ne sais quoi we
can't find on our own.
—Steve Kallaugher
One of the key advances in recent years has been the demonstration of precisely this causal link. It
turns out that if you change how people talk, that changes how they think. If people learn another
language, they inadvertently also learn a new way of looking at the world. When bilingual people
switch from one language to another, they start thinking differently, too. And if you take away
people's ability to use language in what should be a simple nonlinguistic task, their performance can
change dramatically, sometimes making them look no smarter than rats or infants. (For example, in
recent studies, MIT students were shown dots on a screen and asked to say how many there were. If
they were allowed to count normally, they did great. If they simultaneously did a nonlinguistic task—
like banging out rhythms—they still did great. But if they did a verbal task when shown the dots—like
repeating the words spoken in a news report—their counting fell apart. In other words, they needed
their language skills to count.)
34
All this new research shows us that the languages we speak not only reflect or express our thoughts,
but also shape the very thoughts we wish to express. The structures that exist in our languages
profoundly shape how we construct reality, and help make us as smart and sophisticated as we are.
Language is a uniquely human gift. When we study language, we are uncovering in part what makes
us human, getting a peek at the very nature of human nature. As we uncover how languages and their
speakers differ from one another, we discover that human natures too can differ dramatically,
depending on the languages we speak. The next steps are to understand the mechanisms through
which languages help us construct the incredibly complex knowledge systems we have.
Understanding how knowledge is built will allow us to create ideas that go beyond the currently
thinkable. This research cuts right to the fundamental questions we all ask about ourselves. How do
we come to be the way we are? Why do we think the way we do? An important part of the answer, it
turns out, is in the languages we speak.
Corrections and Amplifications
Japanese and Spanish language speakers would likely say "the vase broke" or "the vase was broken"
when talking about an accident. This article says that Japanese and Spanish speakers would be more
likely to say "the vase broke itself."
—Lera Boroditsky is a professor of psychology at Stanford University and editor in chief of Frontiers in
Cultural Psychology.
35
Reading and Responding: Evaluating Purpose and
Consequence in Johnny Got His Gun
Inductive Lesson Plan
Purpose: To cultivate a student-led discussion about what the purposes of writing like that of
Johnny Got His Gun. Students will discuss specifics of the novel and then decide what is
“appropriate” for original written text and also for responses to reading.
Objectives: Students will begin thinking about how they can actively communicate about
various works in their own societal regions. Students should recognize the importance of their
interpretations of various texts while they are examining the importance of Dalton Trumbo’s
purpose in his novel.
Connections to standards: 2.3 Develop as a reader, listener, and viewer for personal, social, and
political purposes, through independent and collaborative reading; 1.3 Communicate in speech,
writing , and multimedia using content, form, voice, and style appropriate to the audience and
purpose. Students will continue examining these aspects of writer’s craft by analyzing purpose
and meaning in Johnny Got His Gun, and they will realize the importance of their reading
through conversation with their peers about the consequences of the novel.
Set Activity: Read the author’s introduction at the front of the book. Note that there are two
editions of Trumbo’s introduction; one dated 1959 and one dated 1970. Can you discern a clear
focus or purpose for his writing? What is his argument in this passage? What does this say to
readers, and how does this connect with the context of the novel? Record some thoughts on
these questions in your writer’s notebook and begin thinking about purpose and point of view as
it applies to the book as a whole. We will focus discussion today on these ideas, so feel free to
jot some notes, ideas, and questions down in your notebook as well.
Introductory Material:
Now that we have read through and discussed the various sections of the book on their
own, we will need to start looking at the novel as a whole to gain a sense of its importance and
consequence as a work of literature. Our discussion today is going to aim at creating this sense
and attempting to define what makes a text worthy of readership and discussion. The
overarching question for our discussion is going to be a combination of “What is the purpose of
Trumbo’s writing Johnny Got His Gun?” and “What is the reason for our readership?” Perhaps
these questions are intimately connected, perhaps they are not. I think, through this discussion,
we’re going to have an opportunity to look at how this text acts didactically for readers—
teaching us certain things about war, politics, and society in general—and also how the text as
language can instruct us as readers and writers. In other words, we can learn a lot from looking
at purpose in a text. One quick hint: purpose does not always have to be intentional on the part
of the author! Many times, the purpose of a text can be inferred to be simply that the author
wants to cultivate discussion and/or creative thinking… this opens up a whole range of effects
which can still be attributed to purpose. We’ll start the discussion looking at this concept of
purpose in specific aspects of the novel’s technical qualities, and expand our discussion to look
36
at the consequences of some of these decisions, and hopefully get a chance to look at how these
factors have influenced your personal interpretations of the text.
Questions for (Guiding) Discussion:
- What is the purpose for Trumbo’s use of stream-of-consciousness style writing? How
does the first-person narrative function in conjunction with the thematic elements of
the novel?
o Is this writing style effective?
o Does this writing style lend or lack credibility? Do you want to trust
Joe/Trumbo or not?
- How do authors gain credibility in a text?
- Would you consider this a didactic or cautionary text? Is Trumbo simply narrating
the dramatic story of a soldier, or is he attempting to teach/preach?
o What can we learn from a “simple” reading of this novel? (“Simple” referring
to the more obvious aspects of the narrative: setting, character, plot, etc.)
o What can we learn from various interpretations of this novel? (Here is where
we begin thinking about thematic elements, motifs, allusions, etc.)
- How does the introduction that we read at the beginning of class support/contradict
these ideas?
o What does the introduction say about the writer (Dalton Trumbo)?
o What does the introduction say about the readers?
- As readers, how should we respond to a powerful text like this?
- As writers, how should we respond to a powerful text like this?
- How would these responses be in line with Trumbo’s attitude in his introduction?
o Should the response of the reader always follow the expectations of the
writer?
o What if we disagree with Trumbo’s text?
- Think about some images and narratives that were brought up in the text, things that
you remember, that struck you as important. In this vein of thinking, how should we
respond to these aspects of our media and culture? What is appropriate for us as
readers (viewers, participants, etc.) and what is appropriate for us as writers? More
importantly, what is necessary for us as readers and writers?
Reasoning Behind Questions:
Ideally, students will have been thinking about the novel in the context of the antiwar/pacifist movement and as a piece of literature that defines an aspect of American cultural
and political history. If the students are at this point in their analysis, it is because they have
been actively participating in their literature assignments thus far in their school career and
because they are able to look at novels for conceptual framework and thematic ideas. Through
this discussion, I hope to guide students to looking at these themes critically, and to look beyond
the fact that Johnny Got His Gun is simply an anti-war novel. Of course, it is and anti-war novel
and should be regarded as one of the greatest, but students should look to a point of analysis
much deeper than this labeling of genre, so that they can determine what this particular anti-war
novel means for them as students of literature and of American society. This discussion should
lead us, through questions specific to purpose and interpretation, to a point where we can
37
evaluate why writers write texts like this, why writers (including ourselves) need to write texts
like this, and why readers need to participate in and facilitate this type of discourse.
Independent Study/Closure: Students will read a small excerpt from Mikhail Bakhtin’s
“Discourse in the Novel” to continue thinking about authorial purpose and craft, and how the
form of the novel relates to the themes and mythologies presented in the novel. After this short
reading, students will be asked to write some thoughts on the following questions, and prepare
for further discussion tomorrow.
1. According to Bakhtin, what happens when we use words? Think about at time when
you’ve said something and someone “took it the wrong way.” How does this concept
relate to the argument in Bakhtin’s essay? Where do these connotations and
interpretations of words come from?
2. In the context of Johnny Got His Gun, how is this significant? Which particular
words come up more than once in the novel? How does Joe/Trumbo investigate the
stratification of these words? How does the novel itself represent the sort of struggle
that Bakhtin describes, if at all?
3. In the coming classes, we are going to begin focusing on grammar and voice in the
novel. Thinking briefly about the style of Trumbo’s text, what might the text be
saying about words (and mythologies)? In terms of the grammar, how might the
word choice and sentence structure be an indication of the historical progression and
individualism that is inevitably applied to word use, according to Bakhtin?
38
Read the author’s introduction at the front of the
book. Note that there are two editions of
Trumbo’s introduction; one dated 1959 and one
dated 1970. Can you discern a clear focus or
purpose for his writing? What is his argument in
this passage? What does this say to readers, and
how does this connect with the context of the
novel? Record some thoughts on these questions
in your writer’s notebook and begin thinking
about purpose and point of view as it applies to
the book as a whole. We will focus discussion
today on these ideas, so feel free to jot some notes,
ideas, and questions down in your notebook as
well.
39
Read the excerpt from “Discourse in the Novel” by Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin is a literary critic
and theorist who wrote a good deal of essays dealing with both literary and cultural studies.
After you read, respond to the following questions:
1. According to Bakhtin, what happens when we use words? Think about at time when
you’ve said something and someone “took it the wrong way.” How does this concept
relate to the argument in Bakhtin’s essay? Where do these connotations and
interpretations of words come from?
2. In the context of Johnny Got His Gun, how is this significant? Which particular
words come up more than once in the novel? How does Joe/Trumbo investigate the
stratification of these words? How does the novel itself represent the sort of struggle
that Bakhtin describes, if at all?
3. In the coming classes, we are going to begin focusing on grammar and voice in the
novel. Thinking briefly about the style of Trumbo’s text, what might the text be
saying about words (and mythologies)? In terms of the grammar, how might the
word choice and sentence structure be an indication of the historical progression and
individualism that is inevitably applied to word use, according to Bakhtin?
Read the excerpt from “Discourse in the Novel” by Mikhail Bakhtin. Bakhtin is a literary critic
and theorist who wrote a good deal of essays dealing with both literary and cultural studies.
After you read, respond to the following questions:
1. According to Bakhtin, what happens when we use words? Think about at time when
you’ve said something and someone “took it the wrong way.” How does this concept
relate to the argument in Bakhtin’s essay? Where do these connotations and
interpretations of words come from?
2. In the context of Johnny Got His Gun, how is this significant? Which particular
words come up more than once in the novel? How does Joe/Trumbo investigate the
stratification of these words? How does the novel itself represent the sort of struggle
that Bakhtin describes, if at all?
3. In the coming classes, we are going to begin focusing on grammar and voice in the
novel. Thinking briefly about the style of Trumbo’s text, what might the text be
saying about words (and mythologies)? In terms of the grammar, how might the
word choice and sentence structure be an indication of the historical progression and
individualism that is inevitably applied to word use, according to Bakhtin?
40
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
41
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
42
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
43
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
44
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
45
Pages of text/resources available in hard copy
46
Individual Research and Group Conclusions:
Contextualizing the Text through Collaboration
Collaborative Lesson
Connections to State Standards: 1.4 “Develop and use the tools and practices of inquiry and
research – generating, exploring, and refining important questions; creating a hypothesis or
thesis; gathering and studying evidence; drawing conclusions; and composing a report.” This
lesson relies on the students’ ability to analyze the text, and of course incorporates some of the
other state standards that focus on close reading and contextualization, but the bulk of the work
in this lesson focuses on the students being able to formulate these ideas into thesis statements
and formal presentations, while collaborating with their peers.
Objectives: This week-long assignment will give students experience in working in groups,
specifically focusing on skills in working with individual assignments and presenting to a group.
Students will be comfortable leaving their group to work on individual research, while trusting
that their colleagues will fulfill their assignment and be able to contribute equally to the group
product. Through this cooperative learning experience, students will be able to identify key
literary concepts in the novel and will have a clear understanding of the importance of these
concepts.
Materials/Resources:
- Information packets (individual/group assignment sheets, rubrics for individual and
group presentation evaluations, resources on providing and citing quotations)
- Posters, markers, smaller paper, scissors, glue, etc. Computers available
- Various rooms/spaces available (ideally, all groups do not have to meet in the same
room)
Introduction: Now that we have finished the novel, we’re going to take a few class periods to
plow through some of the important details and constructs in the text. To do this, we are going
to split the class into four smaller groups that which each be assigned a topic of discussion. I
have printed the topics on a piece of paper that I will give to each group, along with guiding
questions which should help guide your investigation. Also included on this assignment sheet
are 3-4 subtopics which directly relate to your main focus. It is up to each group to decide who
will look at each subtopic, but I recommend splitting up because I am requiring three quotations
that represent each of them. Obviously, the groups will have more than four people, so it is
beneficial to choose the more challenging topics and perhaps have a duo working on them. After
you are finished researching and investigating the topics, you will come together as a group and
discuss how each of the subtopics relate back to the larger idea that I gave you. It is your
responsibility as a whole group to put together a presentation (powerpoint, poster, handout, etc)
that explains your ideas to the class. You will be presenting these as a group, and I will be
grading the presentation as well as your individual submissions of quotations and brainstorming
for your subtopics.
What I am requiring from each individual is the following:
- Full participation in group discussion and presentation
- A thorough investigation of your subtopic
47
-
Three (3) quotations that represent what you think are the most important conceptual
ideas pertaining to your subtopic
An outline or map of your brainstorming process that represents how you came to
understand the subtopic in the context of the novel
An outline or map that you will bring to your group that represents how your subtopic
relates to the larger idea that your group is responsible for defining
What I am requiring from each group is the following:
- Engaging and fair discussion of all points, focusing on the main idea that was given to
you
- A thesis statement that represents how your larger idea works within the text as a
whole
- An outline or map of the brainstorming that took place within the group
- A visual representation of your final, organized ideas about your topic
- A coherent presentation that explains with sufficient detail the importance of your
group’s topic within the greater context of the novel
Group Assignments:
1. Imagery – How does imagery function in the novel? What kinds of allusions are we
meant to recognize and pay attention to throughout the text? What is the purpose of
including the images that repeat themselves throughout the text?
a. Romantic imagery
b. Anecdotal imagery
c. Pastoralism
d. Nostalgia
2. Style and Craft – How do the conditions of the text as an artifact work within the novel
thematically and contextually? How does the author express his position or belief
through the characters, dialogue, and setting? What makes the novel memorable or
noteworthy?
a. Non-standard English
b. Stream of consciousness writing
c. Protest/anti-war writing
d. Anecdotal writing
3. Ambiguity – How does interpretation function in the novel? How do we deal with the
missing information and the information that is alluded to through various mythologies
and narratives? How does ambiguity further the purpose and theme of the novel?
a. Religion
b. Education
c. Propaganda
d. Justice
4. Voice – How does the concept of individual/personal voice function in the novel? What
does the novel say about what is appropriate for writing and about what is necessary for
writing? What is the commentary on speaking out on an issue, and what is the
commentary on being heard?
a. Historical context
b. Literary context
48
c. Social context
Procedure: After reading all directions and answering any questions with the entire class
together, class should be split into groups according to their interests in the topics given. Groups
must have at least four students each. (It is worth noting here for differentiation purposes that
Group 1 [Imagery] has a slightly easier topic than the other groups, and their assignment sheet is
much more detailed in terms of leading questions and hints. When assigning groups, this group
is ideal for the students who have had slightly more trouble with the reading and critical thinking
exercises.) Groups will meet initially for 15-20 minutes to discuss and brainstorm how they will
approach their topic and what sort of focus they intend for their presentation. All group
members should at this point be assigned a subtopic to investigate and they should have a clear
understanding of what the main focus of the group will be and should be able to research in the
text accordingly. After this discussion, groups may remain together or split up but students
should begin to work independently or in pairs to investigate each individual subtopic. Students
should plan on using the remainder of the class period to research and formulate their theses
regarding each subtopic. If there is more research or thinking that needs to be done, students
should do this for homework.
The following class period, students will be allotted 10 minutes at the beginning of class
to review their notes and quotations and organize the ideas that they would like to present to their
group. After this time, groups will meet and begin discussing the subtopics individually. Rather
than encouraging open discussion, this second meeting will benefit from individual presentations
from the group members. Each group member should take 3-5 minutes to articulate the main
ideas of their research conclusions without interruption. After each presentation, the group as a
whole should spend another 5-6 minutes discussing the ideas as they relate to the larger
conceptual idea that they will be presenting on. This round of presentations will adhere to this
time frame and will be conducted by the instructor, who will watch the clock and dictate when to
move on to a new topic/discussion.
The final class period which students will have for group work should be spent working
on the presentation. Each student will need to help organize the presentation because details
from each subtopic will be required. Students must work together to put together a coherent
presentation which effectively states their thesis for the class to understand. It is important to
keep in mind that each presentation represents a valuable moment in which the “experts” on a
topic will teach their colleagues! Therefore, these presentations should be taken seriously and
involve dense, thought-provoking ideas, details, and support.
Presentations will follow, groups may be allowed extra time to complete their work if it is
needed, warranted, and deserved.
Time Frame:
Day 1
Introduction from
teacher, questions,
groups (10)
First group
meeting: initial
brainstorm,
assignments (15)
Day 2
Day 3
Review,
Group work on
organizing
presentations (50)
individual thoughts
for small group
presentations (10)
Small group
individual
presentations (5)
and discussions (5)
Day 4
Group work on
presentations (50)
Day 5
Group
presentations
49
(40)
Individual research
and brainstorming
(25)
Closure/Reflection: Because of the time spent on this lesson, the reflection will require deep
thinking and time on the part of the students. Assuming that there will be some extra time after
the presentations on Friday, I will ask students to begin brainstorming the important points from
all four of the presentations. The students should be able to critically engage the topics that were
presented on, and hopefully even strive for more information on their own. After the short
brainstorming session, students will be asked to write a 1-2 page reflection expressing how the
group experience was for them and how they felt the presentations went, along with what topics
they feel are important and how they feel about conceptualizing the novel as a whole. Guiding
questions will be provided as follows:
- What do you feel that you contributed to the group?
- Do you feel that your group worked well through the topics of discussion?
- What, if anything, would have improved the group experience and encouraged deeper
critical thinking for your group?
- Were the group presentations valuable to you?
- Do you feel that you have a good handle on the concepts that were presented on?
- What do you feel are the most important themes in the novel?
- If I were to ask you to write an essay on the novel right now, what topic would you
choose to write on and why?
This reflection, if finished by the end of the class, will be turned in for a participation check or
for minimal points. If needed, students should plan on reflecting further over the weekend and
prepare the paper for the following Monday.
Assessment:
Individual brainstorming sheets from the initial group meeting will be collected and examined to
be sure that students are applying critical thinking and research skills to finding quotations in
their text. Their notes should show that they are able to abstract a thesis from quotations in the
text and that they can cleverly articulate this using the textual examples as evidence. (No rubric)
Groups should keep brainstorming logs, which trace their thought patterns and discussion flow,
incorporating quotations from the text and from individual group members. These logs should
provide the basis for the presentations and formation of theses. (Short, flexible rubric, given to
one individual – “scribe” of the group)
Small group presentations will represent the conclusions and analysis of each individual group
member. These should be presentations that are independent of grading so as to encourage the
organic, discussion-based interaction within the small groups, but the teacher should be attentive
to as many presentations as possible to be aware of how each student is doing with the research
and understanding the concepts.
Large group presentations will require a formal rubric, incorporating requirements for the oral
presentation and the visual aid. Students should be able to produce an understandable and
50
complex thesis and support it with evidence from the text. All group members should actively
participate in the discussion and contribute evidence that they can easily explain to the class.
This rubric will be distributed with the assignment at the beginning of the week.
51
Johnny Got His Gun: Individual Research and Group Conclusions
Groupwork Information Packet
Group: _________________
Group Meeting #1 As a group, brainstorm some quick thoughts about your group’s questions
and topics as they relate to your reading of the text and what we have discussed in class. After
10-15 minutes of brainstorming, decide who will investigate each of the subtopics (each topic
needs to be covered by one individual, but if there are extra people in the group, you may decide
to double up on the more challenging topics). As individuals, spend the rest of the class period
researching your topic with the text. If needed, spend some time at home working with your
topic. Prepare a 3-5 minute presentation for tomorrow’s group meeting during which you will
present and explain your findings to your group. This presentation is informal, but you need to
be able to articulate specific ideas with evidence and quotations from the text so that you as the
expert on the topic can contribute to the group discussion in search of a thesis for the larger
concept.
Group Meeting #2 Each group member will be allotted 3-5 minutes to present their findings
with evidence and quotations. A group discussion should directly follow each presentation
wherein the group as a whole will reflect on the most important conclusions to be drawn from
the research findings. Make sure that everybody understands the information from the
presentations so that it can be included seamlessly in your large group presentation and in your
conclusions about the larger concept. The group member that is presenting should take notes on
the group discussion following the presentation.
Group Meeting #3-4 Continue discussing the subtopics and bring in the larger concept to form a
big-picture understanding of your group’s concept in the context of the novel. Create a
presentation that represents a summary of your findings on each of the subtopics, how they relate
to one another, and how they relate to the larger concept. Create a thesis statement that
represents these findings. Prepare a presentation and a visual aid to explain your ideas and
findings to the class.
52
Group 1: Imagery
Investigate Dalton Trumbo’s use of imagery in Johnny Got His Gun. How does imagery
function in the novel? How is imagery written in the novel? What techniques are used to put the
novel into perspective for the reader? What kinds of allusions are we meant to recognize and
pay attention to throughout the text? What kinds of motifs repeat themselves throughout the
text? Why are these things important? What is the purpose behind including these images?
These questions should guide and fuel your discussion and research during this week of
collaboration. Ultimately, you will come together as a group and create a thesis that expresses a
creative conclusion about the way imagery works in the novel.
Subtopics:
- Romantic imagery [detailed descriptions of expansive settings, emphasis on nature,
nod to earlier romantic texts, idealized relationships]
- Anecdotal imagery [using anecdotes or short narratives to explain events or move the
larger narrative along]
- Pastoralism [idealizing simplistic, “natural” living; man/land relationships]
- Nostalgia [longing for the past, idealizing historical eras and ideologies, doubting the
worth of modern society]
- War imagery [horrors of war, scenes from the battlefield, aftermath of war, etc.]
- Other ideas? Please see me if you have extra group members and you have an idea for
a topic that you think should be included in the analysis.
53
Group 2: Style and Craft
How do the conditions of the text as an artifact work within the novel thematically and
contextually? How does the author express his position or belief through the characters,
dialogue, and setting? What makes the novel memorable or noteworthy?
Subtopics:
- Non-standard English
- Stream of consciousness writing
- Protest/anti-war writing
- Anecdotal writing
54
Group 3: Ambiguity
How does interpretation function in the novel? How do we deal with the missing information
and the information that is alluded to through various mythologies and narratives? How does
ambiguity further the purpose and theme of the novel?
Subtopics:
- Religion
- Education
- Propaganda
- Justice
55
Group 4: Voice
How does the concept of individual/personal voice function in the novel? What does the novel
say about what is appropriate for writing and about what is necessary for writing? What is the
commentary on speaking out on an issue, and what is the commentary on being heard?
Subtopics:
- Historical context
- Literary context
- Social context
56
Group Meeting #1
Brainstorming Log
Topic: _______________________________
Main ideas to be drawn from this topic:
What do you already remember from the novel that will work as evidence for your presentation?
Group Assignments:
Subtopic: __________________________ Student: _______________________________
Subtopic: __________________________ Student: _______________________________
Subtopic: __________________________ Student: _______________________________
Subtopic: __________________________ Student: _______________________________
Subtopic: __________________________ Student: _______________________________
Subtopic: __________________________ Student: _______________________________
57
Personal Research Assignment Sheet
Feel free to use another sheet (or several) to work through your thoughts and ideas on the topic;
you should have a clear understanding of how your topic functions in the novel, and this sheet
should be used as a summary of your final thoughts along with the evidence to support your
findings.
Name ____________________________
Topic ____________________________
Key Words:
Quotation #1:
Analysis:
Quotation #2:
Analysis:
Quotation #3:
Analysis:
Thesis:
58
Group Meeting #2
Brainstorming Log
Topic ______________________________
Popular discussion points/main ideas:
Topic ______________________________
Popular discussion points/main ideas:
Topic ______________________________
Popular discussion points/main ideas:
Topic ______________________________
Popular discussion points/main ideas:
Topic ______________________________
Popular discussion points/main ideas:
59
Group Meetings 3-4
Presentation Planning
Thesis:
Create a concept map that illustrates the large concept, the smaller subtopics, and the connections
between them all, along with any other thoughts your group came up with in discussion.
60
Group Presentation
Rubric
CATEGORY
Argument
Evidence
4
Argument is extremely intelligent
and dense. Ideas are excellently
stated in a way that readers can
understand but are still challenged
to continue thinking. This is an
argument that was inspired by
serious thinking and group
discussion, and is a challenging
position that would not be easily
concluded.
Evidence is thorough and farreaching. Relevant quotations are
provided for each topic and the most
important elements of the novel are
addressed in relation to the concept
being presented. Evidence links
directly to the argument.
Participation
All group members actively
participated in the gathering of
evidence, discussion, and final
group presentation.
Presentation
Presentation was clear, loud, and
accessible for the entire class.
Visual aid was helpful and cleverly
organized. Group members took
pride in their work and were eager
to share their conclusions with the
class.
Preparedness
Presentation showed a high level of
group focus and collaboration.
3
Argument is intelligent and
coherent. Ideas are stated well,
and concepts go beyond
expectations. Argument
challenges thinking and
provides a creative way of
looking at the text, but perhaps
could go a little deeper.
Evidence was gathered from
most of the novel, perhaps
missing one important idea.
Quotations are provided for
each topic but some lack
relevancy. The entire novel is
discussed and aids in the
argument, but some important
ideas were left out.
All group members participated
in the gathering of evidence and
discussion, and most group
members participated in the
final group presentation.
Presentation was clear and
accessible by most of the class.
Visual aid was appealing but
confusing at times. Group
members actively participated
in the presentation, but the
presentation lacked some
amount of liveliness.
Presentation showed an
acceptable level of group focus
and collaboration.
2
Argument covers the main
ideas implied by the text, but
lacks creativity and reflection.
Ideas are stated well, but may
be confusing or understated for
many readers. The holes in this
argument show that the group
did not spend much time
discussing the complexities of
the conclusions.
Evidence is taken from one or a
few sections of the novel.
Quotations are not creative and
not very deep in relation to the
concept. While the evidence
relates to the concept, it does
not provide strong support
within the novel itself.
Many of the group members
participated in all group
activities, but the group
presentation featured only a
few of the group members.
Presentation was somewhat
confusing and thrown together.
Visual aid was not helpful, and
group members were simply
“going through the motions”
during the presentation.
Presentation was evidence that
the group did not collaborate
well and, though they managed
to produce, it was unappealing.
1
Argument is invalid or
incorrect. Argument cannot
be understood by readers
because of the small amount
of context that it shares with
the text. It is obvious that
group members did not work
hard to discuss the topic.
Evidence is largely irrelevant
and carelessly thrown
together. Quotations (if any)
are irrelevant and difficult to
place. Evidence exists in
small sections of the novel,
but there is no general
understanding of the novel as
a whole.
Group work and presentation
was led by 1-2 individuals.
Presentation may as well
have been nonexistent. The
class learned nothing because
the presentation was
disorganized and boring.
Presentation was
unsuccessful; evidence of
poor group focus and lack of
work.
61
Culminating Activity / Assessment
The final project for this unit has three parts:
1. A reflective paper summarizing the lessons and the topics that we covered throughout
the unit, concluding with a topic of interest and a thesis for a larger essay (2-3 pages)
2. A final essay expressing, explaining, and supporting the thesis that will come out of
your reflection (4-6 pages)
3. A final reflection that will include an analysis of the unit as a whole and the writing
process for your final paper (1-2 pages)
Assignment:
Throughout the unit, we have discussed many concepts and points of entry into the text. You
have had a chance to express your opinions and ideas, ask questions, and evaluate the opinions
and ideas of your fellow classmates. Begin your final project by reflecting on these lessons and
summarizing the main ideas from each. Feel free to use all of the information and handouts you
received, along with your notes and whatever other materials you have from the lessons. This
reflection should be a natural process, and should aid you in choosing your essay topic—the end
of your reflection should express what you think are the most important ideas to take away from
the novel and you should write a thesis statement that you can write about and support in a
longer essay.
Once you have this thesis established, begin your final essay. This is a formal, academic paper,
and you must present a creative and challenging thesis statement that you can support with
details and evidence from the text. This paper should be between four and six pages in length
and include no less than five pieces of substantial evidence to support your thesis. The evidence
will include a minimum of three quotes and two other artifacts of support (these may be other
texts or documents that we read in class, remnants of in-class discussion, or more quotations
from the text if they are relevant). Please refer to the handout on citing and quoting from
literature to be sure that you properly cite your quotations and other artifacts!
The final part of the assignment is a reflection which should look mainly at your writing process
as you struggled through the previous reflection and then the final essay. This reflection may
also include a discussion of the unit as a whole. This is meant to be the capstone that represents
where your thinking has brought you in regards to the unit and the text.
To begin, here is a list of the topics that were covered throughout our discussions:
-
Mythologies
Narratives
Non-standard English
Stream-of-consciousness writing
Authorial purpose (intentional vs.
unintentional)
Reader response
Functions of language
-
Imagery
Style and craft
Sociopolitical writing
Use of voice (textual and vocal)
Intertextuality
Nostalgic pastoralism as a theme
American cultural genre
62
Rubric
Final Project
CATEGORY
Length – 4-6 pages
Prose – good command
of the language, good
structure and flow
Creativity – argument
goes beyond face value
and what was discussed
in class
Thoughtfulness – a
good deal of time was
spent developing the
argument and
establishing evidence
Evidence – meets
minimum amount, cites
accurately, quotations
are relevant and
beneficial
Thesis – represents a
solid understanding of
the text and
connections between
important ideas
Reflection – both
reflections provide
detail which convinces
the reader of the depth
of student thought and
evidence of connections
between the
assignments
4
4
3
3
2
2
1
2
4
3
2
1
4
3
2
1
4
3
2
1
4
3
2
1
4
3
2
1
4
3
2
1
COMMENTS
63
Annotated Bibliography
Bakhtin, Mikhail. "Discourse in the Novel." Literary Theory: An Anthology. By Julie Rivkin and
Michael Ryan. Malden (Mass.): Blackwell, 2004. 674-79. Print.
This selection is intended to provide a challenge to students’ reading and thinking
abilities. Many high school students are not exposed to very much literary theory, and Bakhtin’s
essay is perhaps a slightly more forgiving example of such. The ideas apply to the text and
discussion of various lessons and should abstract students’ thinking, hopefully inspiring more
creative thought and writing ideas. There is the potential that this selection will inspire a student
to learn more, and I will have the entire essay available, along with recommendations for other
theoretical essays that are accessible by high school students.
Bloom, Harold. How to Read and Why. New York: Scribner, 2000. Print.
This book is a great resource that could be made available for students, as it explains in
quite plain language the purposes and methods for reading literature. The book provides
various examples of worthy texts in academia, but I would mainly like to focus on the
ideas presented in Bloom’s introduction to work with students in reading with purpose
and vigour.
Johnny Got His Gun. Dir. Dalton Trumbo. Perf. Timothy Bottoms and Donald Sutherland. 1971.
DVD.
This movie will be available to students who seek an additional perspective or point of
entry into the novel. There is a possibility that the culture of a class will necessitate watching the
movie in its entirety, but more likely I will provide clips of the movie during discussion or
simply make the film available if students seek it out. The context of the film may or may not be
helpful, depending on where the discussions lead—it is certainly not necessary based on how the
lesson is planned, but there is always the possibility of certain students requiring different
mediums of presentation, and because of that it will be available.
"Johnny Got His Gun." SparkNotes. SparkNotes, n.d. Web. 16 June 2012.
<http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/johnnygun/>.
However much SparkNotes is referred to as “cheating,” it is an important and helpful
resource for students to learn how to use. The summaries and analyses for each chapter provide
a helpful guide for student thinking, and often cover the basic plot points that students should be
familiar with prior to entering a deeper discussion in the classroom. The background
information and “key facts” sections are also informative for students who require additional
resources to encourage their creative thinking.
Psalms. New American Bible. N.p.: St. Mary's, 2000. Print. (Psalm 23)
This Psalm is alluded to in Tennyson’s poem and students are introduced to it likewise in
the direct lesson. This resource will be available if students require additional practice
with allusions or mythologies. The book of Psalms is a popular citation for many
64
allusions in literary work that students can be familiar with, as is common throughout the
Bible.
Tennyson, Alfred. The Charge of the Light Brigade. University of Virginia. Web. May 2012.
This poem features prominently in the direct lesson, and is used to provide examples of
two different concepts for students. The poem represents an allusion in the larger work of the
novel, and is also an example for us of how to look for allusions in a larger work. We will work
with the poem in class so that students gain familiarity with looking at literature. Students will
then have this poem in their “toolbox” for future use, possibly in their final project.
Trimbur, John. "Composition and the Circulation of Writing." College Composition and
Communication 52.2 (2000): 188-219. JSTOR. Web. 26 May 2012.
This essay is a creative look into the “delivery” of writing in an attempt to dismiss the
emphasis on the process and take a look at how student writing is a product of Marxist
material circulation. I am particularly interested in this concept for this unit because it
seems like the concepts will work well with the socio-cultural type literary study that we
are working with.
Trumbo, Dalton. Johnny Got His Gun. New York: Bantam, 1970. Print.
This text is obviously our greatest resource for the unit. Students will be required to read
the entire novel and think extensively about the concepts and themes that it involves.
This novel will be used to ignite discussion on a variety of topics, and also as the prompt
and evidence for student assessment at the end of the unit.
"Welcome to the Purdue OWL." Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide. Purdue
University, n.d. Web. June 2012. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/03/>.
The Purdue OWL is an excellent resource to direct students to if they need help with
formatting citations in an academic essay. This resource will be helpful for the final
project and for the cooperative lesson when students are required to find and cite
quotations as evidence for their essays and presentations. It is possible that this will
become the resource for a formal lesson on citations if during the enrichment lesson it
becomes obvious that students need extra help.
65
Reflective Analysis
I am excited about this unit. I know that there are good ideas here, and if I have a
responsive classroom full of creative and intelligent students, the discussions surrounding this
novel and material really have the potential to take off. I am glad that I took this seriously and
put so much effort into creating these lessons, because I cannot wait to put this unit to use in the
classroom. I enjoyed the work that I did thinking through these lessons because it was a
challenge for me—each lesson was like an essay that I had to write on the topic, and I had to
think through a variety of perspectives to make this suitable and accessible for high school
students, while still being challenging and informative. While this reinforced for me the
importance of being familiar with content in a classroom, it also taught me that each unit
provides an opportunity for growth not only for the students, but for the teacher. I understand,
after writing this unit, that my middle school and high school teachers weren’t reading the
literature over and over again for the class only because they enjoyed it, but because each time
they read it there was something new to learn—and something new to teach! This relationship
with the literature excites me about bringing this unit into the classroom; I know that there will
be a community effort to learn and analyze the material, which includes work by student and by
teacher.
I have to mention a formality of completing this project because it stands out in my mind
and makes me proud. I expected to spend all weekend before this project was due working
crazily on it, trying to finish it in time, leaving things out and adding them and having computer
trouble, etc. But I didn’t. Instead, the weekend arrived and I sat down with the material that I
already had and realized I didn’t have all that much left to do. I had turned in completed lessons
in line with the schedule and I had worked on them as the weeks progressed, exactly how I
should have! And when the time came to crack down and finish the project, I was far ahead of
what I had expected. Above all, I take this as evidence that my thinking for this unit is nearly
complete; that I have fully immersed myself in both content and philosophy for this project and I
am prepared to teach the lessons and the novel with confidence.
The challenge to me was planning and writing the lessons in detail. I certainly
understand the benefit of doing this, but I’ve always had a hard time planning every move I make
in the classroom because I know that the class never goes that smoothly. I know that I’m not
going to read what I have written in planning and that the class isn’t going to respond exactly
how I expected. To put it all down on paper, in detail, seems dangerous to me. I had to work
around this and I can now honestly say that I am more confident in this unit because it is all
available in hard copy; because I have completely fleshed out my thinking and my objectives for
the classroom and because all the resources are in one place, ready to be copied and distributed
to the class. And yet, the spirit of adaptability still exists in this unit; I was able to incorporate
this part of my personality by allowing for extra time between lessons and for different
perspectives on the part of the students… this continues to excite me, that the content will be
taught/learned in a very communicative and cooperative environment. I imagine this unit to be
an ongoing conversation over coffee, one that spurs thought after thought, a discussion that just
won’t end because of all the great ideas coming out of it.
Knowing this, I can see that I probably need to reign in my idealism a little bit and make
more allowances for students who don’t think quite like me, and who are quite as enthusiastic
about literature and critical thinking. I am aware that any given class will present me with
challenging students who are bored, angry, nervous, or disadvantaged for any number of other
66
reasons. At the top of my list of goals for myself is the need to work on differentiating lessons
for these groups of students and understanding that sometimes a lesson won’t go the way I
planned not because the students take the discussion somewhere else, but because the students
don’t take the discussion anywhere at all. I need to be prepared for students who aren’t engaging
the reading at all, either because they don’t want to or because they just can’t. I have done my
best in this unit to make allowances for these students by providing different levels of challenge
in the activities and reading and by allowing a broad range of discussion in the lessons, but
again—every class is different, and the unit will necessarily be adapted for the individuals who
are being taught.
I am sure that when I choose to use this lesson in a classroom setting I will amend the
lessons to make them more student-centered, although the way the unit is now I’m not sure if the
lessons are really teacher-centered, either. I know that the unit follows my thought patterns and
details my journey through the text, but I also believe that I did a good job of making the text
relevant for students and appropriate for the standards that need to be taught in a Michigan high
school. I am proud of myself for choosing a novel that is not immediately listed on the Michigan
DOE website but still teaching the novel with the standards in mind. I hope that this unit will
work to teach students through example and through content that creative thinking means both
working outside the norm and working with the norm, but expanding and abstracting it. We are
analyzing a novel that many would accept at face value as an anti-war novel (and they may
praise its merits therein), and we are delving so much deeper to make the text relevant and
didactic for many other purposes. The ideas that I hope to engage students with in this unit
should remain circulating in their minds throughout their school career, as they analyze
literature, culture, art, society, and all else that they come in contact with. I believe that this unit
teaches relevant and important skills that high school students are certainly capable of dealing
with, and I am excited to teach these skills in a classroom.
67